Harvey Should Fill Void Left By Gee

"If the people who see him say, 'he's ready, bring him up,' I'll all for it." Mets manager Terry Collins also stated that the prospect of Matt Harvey replacing the injured Dillon Gee in the starting rotation was a 'remote possibility' and that he wasn't 'ruling anything out.'

GM Sandy Alderson has referred to Miguel Batista and Jeremy Hefner as replacements for Gee. However, Collins' recent comments to consider Harvey as an option can now be viewed as more than just an afterthought.

Mets 2011 Season Report Card

Last week, I was asked to contribute my take on the Mets 2011 season using a report card-style format, here it goes.

Rotation: B-

How many wins the Mets rotation earned this season does not tell the whole story. Durability is more like it. R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey, and Chris Capuano were each able to take the mound more than thirty times during the 2011 season and gave the Mets some stability in the back-end of their rotation. Let’s just hope help is on the way with the addition of a healthy Johan Santana and a rested Jonathon Niese to shore up the front-end for 2012.

Bullpen: F

This grade to me was a no-brainer. After shipping out their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets bullpen became its own worst enemy. A closer by committee ensued with the end result being a very serviceable Manny Acosta. All kidding aside, right-hander Bobby Parnell overcame his bouts with poor circulation, Ryota Igarashi was shown the door while young lefty Danny Herrera, all 5’6”, 165 lbs. of him proved that it doesn’t take much to be invited to the MLB Fan Cave. This area of the Mets roster was one disaster after another, beginning with the signing of D.J. Carrasco to the lack of a set-up man. Even if K-Rod had stayed, chances are slim that he would’ve been capable of exercising his highly-publicized option with this crew.

Catchers: C

Honestly, I gave the Mets catchers a “C” because the word, catcher, starts with C, meaning there’s not much to get excited about in this department. I’ll admit the signing of Ronny Paulino did raise the grade. However, Josh Thole’s bat was as unspectacular as his glove which isn’t saying much and the reason he was able to stay on the roster was due to his ability to catch the knuckleball.

Infield: C+

If there was such a grade as “I” (I for infield, wink, wink, nudge, nudge) the Mets infielders would’ve earned it. But in this case, the letter “I” would be for inconsistency. Correct me if I’m wrong, but at one point in the season, all four of the Mets Opening Day starters, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Daniel Murphy, and Ike Davis, were either on the DL or unable to perform on a daily basis. However, there is a silver lining in all of this and it goes by the name of shortstop Ruben Tejada, the Mets version of a blue-chip prospect on the rise.

Outfield: B-

For this category, you could accuse me of judging lightly. Coupled with an underperforming Jason Bay and Angel Pagan (who further exemplified the injury woes that still plague this Mets team) and the Carlos Beltran trade, you could grade this category lower than it actually is. The saving grace, you ask? A budding star in Lucas Duda whom Mets fans anticipate will fill the void left by the departed Beltran and give the ball club some desperately-needed power.

Best Offensive Player

If ever there was a player who could define the phrase “limitless potential”, it would be Jose Reyes. In addition to his speed, Reyes was able to bring home the franchise’s first NL Batting title. Owner of the fan-favorite chant, “Jose, Jose, Jose,” Reyes was the star attraction the entire season, whether it was on the field, singing reggaeton, or nursing a very temperamental hamstring.

Top Pitcher

Dillon Gee. I know what you’re thinking, Gee is just a rookie and of course, it would be unfair to compare his rookie season with that of say, Hall of Famer Tom Seaver’s, but you have to be pleased with the competitiveness he showed on the mound. His ability to effectively change speeds and give MLB hitters different looks at the plate earned him an above-average first full season.

In summation, the Mets need bullpen help, bad!

Check out my baseball podcast, Mets Public Record, airing this Tuesday night at 11 PM EST!

Goal for Mets Should Be to Finish Strong

Update: Saturday and Sunday's matchups against the Braves have been post-poned due to the strong possibility of Hurricane Irene affecting the NYC Metro area

Intro - MPR - 08/25/11

Hello, my fellow Mets fans...

The Mets will be opening up a weekend series against one of their long-time hated rivals, the Atlanta Braves, at Cit Field. Chris Capuano will take the mound for the Mets on Friday night opposite Tim Hudson which should make for an interesting ball game.

The Mets are coming off of a series-salvaged-win against the Phillies on Wednesday, but before we get into the latest surrounding the NY Mets, I just want to let you guys and gals know that this podcast will be taking its usual end of the summer break. Meaning, tonight will be the last podcast until Sept 15th which is a Thursday night. I do have a guest scheduled for that show, so I will leave it at that.

On Monday night’s podcast we had a caller, Buck, who stated that he was sick of the “ifs” year-in-and-year-out surrounding this Mets club.

Rich and I established that some of the Mets, notably, Mike Pelfrey and Angel Pagan had actually taken a step back this season.

So to continue with this topic I will take the flipside of this argument and ask Met fans who they feel has actually blossomed this season or taken a step forward. Aside from Reyes and Murphy, who would you say has made a considerable impact this season, Justin Turner? Dillon Gee?

To listen to the rest of Thursday night's podcast, CLICK HERE!

Sick of the "ifs," It's A Step-Back Season on MPR

Intro - Mon. Aug 22nd

Hello my fellow Mets fans...

With tonight’s 10-0 loss to the Phillies, the Mets have now lost 14 of the 19 games they’ve played here in August. That amounts to a won-lost record of 5-14. Very similar to the 5-13 record that the Mets had displayed during the first month of the season.

What do you know Mets fans, they’ve come full circle!

(whistle sound – up and down)

Better yet, if you add those two back-to-back losses to the Washington Nationals at the end of July, the Mets have lost 16 out of their last 21 games, a 5-16 record.

This is starting to scare me, folks, I’m scared, very scared. Collins looks like he’s about to jump off a bridge

Pagan was pulled from tonight’s game, with an apparent stomach virus (colitis), taken out of the game and replaced by Jason Pridie.

Dillon Gee was smacked around for 8 earned runs in just 3.2 IP.

In defense of Gee though, he was initially scheduled to start Tuesday night’s game but there was a last minute-scratch of Jon Niese with an ailing back that Collins believes is good-to-go for Tuesday night...

To hear more, CLICK HERE!

Dillon Gee Needs to Get Back On the Radar

After seven wins, Dillon Gee, during his last four starts, has gone 1-3, giving up 23 hits in 22 innings pitched and posting an earned run average of 6.55 in that span. To his credit, Gee did strike out seven Yankee batters on July 2nd at Citi Field.

Houston, We Have No Bullpen

I had a very bad feeling about this game after seeing Jose Reyes get picked off for the third time this season at first base in the first inning. Plus, Dillon Gee, who I scooped up the night before and added to my fantasy team as a spot starter in hopes of stealing a win, was pitching like a hometown guy who's parents drove all the way form Ft. Worth, Tex. to see their son pitch at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Unfortunately, Gee did not hold up his end of the bargain.

In defense of Gee, he was serviceable but in no way compared to his counterpart, Bud Norris, who struck out 8 Met hitters and pitched into the eighth inning with a strong 4-1 lead. Then, disaster struck, Justin Turner singled and Fernando Martinez, coming off the bench, slammed a 2-run homer to put the Mets within one run.

With Norris all but out of gas, Astros manager Brad Mills now had to rely on his unreliable bullpen. Opting to go with the right-hander, Jeff Fulchino, instead of the lefty, Fernando Abad, Reyes would work out a walk and David Wright would proceed with a clutch 2-run jack that was the icing on the cake for a very exciting and impressive Mets victory.

Never saw that coming. Now I can think twice when Reyes gets picked off in the first inning and our starter walks the lead-off hitter, who happens to be the opposing team's pitcher, that led to a run. Great win!

Mets Fans Feeling Better

Dillon Gee did another great job filling in for Chris Young who is on the mend. Chris Capuano earned himself another start with his pitching performance on Tuesday night. The Mets desperately needed a well-pitched game.

Ike Davis has been a beast at the plate, three homers, three games. Jason Bay is back and has been labeled a "calm presence" in the clubhouse by his manager.

Terry Collins can live with Daniel Murphy's defense if he continues to get the big hit that drives runners in.

The Mets look to be settling in with their bullpen; Pedro Beato pitching the seventh, Jason Isringhausen as the set-up guy to K-Rod.

The Mets go for the sweep on Sunday. Looking forward to Niese, hopefully, he can keep the momentum going.

Why Can't Cappy Join Izzy and Iggy?

During Monday night’s broadcast, I introduced the idea of placing right-hander Dillon Gee into the Mets rotation which would mean that left-hander Chris Capuano would be headed to the bullpen.

With righty Chris Young on the DL with biceps tendinitis, the front office should heed the warning signs of his injury. By putting Cappy in the pen, it will take the strain off of his recovery as well as the current Mets bullpen.

Mets Prospects On the Rise

Dillon Gee RHP, in four rookie starts in which he is averaging six and two-thirds innings per outing, Gee has a 2-1 won-lost record to go along with a 2.00 earned run average and fifteen strikeouts.

With the return of ace Johan Santana uncertain for next season, Gee could be a serious contender for the Mets starting rotation in 2011.

Lucas Duda OF, after recording just one hit in his first 33 big league at-bats (.030 BA), Duda has gone 9-for-22 (.409 BA) with four doubles, two home runs, and nine runs batted in.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel has given Lucas Duda high marks as a hitter who is exceptional at going the other way.